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Delco In Review … Del Val League

Academy Park (10-2) captured the league championship with a memorable, 23-point blowout victory over Interboro on the final week of the season. It had been a long time coming for AP, both in terms of beating AP and winning the Del Val. There was a lot to like about the Knights, led offensively by QB Tyler Street (18 TDs), RB Jerry Lanier and WR Earl Hargrove. Defensive stalwarts included LBs Lew Morrison and Jamar Dembry, as well as defensive back Jeff Devaughn. The Knights — ranked No. 4 in the final Super 7 (and as high as No. 3 this season) — finished with a whimper, though, when they coughed up a fourth-quarter lead to Interboro in the District One Class AAA semifinals…

…Which leads me to Interboro (11-3), which captured its first District One title thanks to a 14-12 win over W.C. Henderson. The Bucs weren’t the top dog in the county (Episcopal and Ridley shared those honors), but they were the only school in the county to make it all the way to the state playoffs. There was a lot to like about this year’s Interboro squad.

While both Interboro and Academy Park graduate several members from this year’s teams, they’ll probably be the favorites to battle it out for the Del Val crown once again in 2013.

THE OTHERS

Glen Mills (5-5) was in the District One Class AAA hunt for most of the season, but the 2011 Del Val champs couldn’t quite repeat last season’s success (when they were 7-3 but failed to make the D1 4A postseason). The Battlin’ Bulls were blown out by Ridley in the season opener, lost its next two games before reeling off three straight to get back within contention. And argument could be made that Glen Mills should have beaten Academy Park, and is every bit as good as the Knights. Remember, the Bulls came within a missed two-point conversion of winning that game…

Chichester (3-8) took a pretty significant step backward after posting four wins last year. But it’s hard to fault the Eagles considering they were plagued by several season-ending injuries to several starters…Questions surround the future of the Chester High (2-7) football program, but one thing is certain: Coach Chuck Crews and his crew have dedicated themselves to turning the program around. RB Darrell Nicholson showed a lot of good things in 2012… Penn Wood (1-10). Second-year coach Troy Brooks has his work cut out for him, trying to develop good athletes into football players. RB/LB Rich Ringgold was the Patriots’ top player…

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About mattsmith

Matt Smith is an award-winning local sports writer for the Delaware County Times. A Delco native, Matt's covered local, pro and college sports at the Delco Times since 2006.
In 2013, he won a Pennsylvania Keystone Press Award for Best Sports Coverage. He was runner up for a similar award in 2009 and also nominated 2011.
Follow him on Twitter @DTMattSmith

2 thoughts on “Delco In Review … Del Val League”

I know that a lot has been written about Interboro this season, both on this blog and in the paper during their run to the District Championship. But, it would have been nice to see at least one Buc mentioned by name in this Del-Val recap article.

So, here is some info on some of the Interboro’s key contributors this season (all stats courtesy of Delcofootball.com):
Rashon Fentress was Delaware County’s best Tight End in 2012 grabbing 39 catches for 724 yards (3rd for all players in Delco) and 7 touchdowns (tied for 3rd in Delco). He was not Interboro’s leading receiver, though. Those honors went to sophomore Mark Everton who caught 40 passes for 763 yards (#1 in Delco) and 8 touchdowns (tied for #1 in Delco). Those two paced Interboro’s passing attack which was led by QB Nick Rentos whose 1,838 yards lead Delaware County and whose 19 touchdown passes were good for second in Delaware County.

Neither Fentress or Everton were Interboro’s top scorer. Warren Allen ran for 769 yards and scored 15 touchdowns. Allen’s 15 touchdowns made him Interboro’s top scorer and one of the most prolific touchdown scorers in all of Delaware County for 2012. Sonny Armstrong was Interboro’s top runner, though, in terms on yardage gained, running for 868 yards on 7.4 yards per carry (#3 in Delco for runners with at least 100 carries). Armstrong was also arguably Interboro’s best defensive player.